Characteristics of androgynous, undifferentiated, masculine, and feminine middle-class women

Of a random sample of 465 women aged 20-59 who participated in a structured interview in 1975 covering health, demographic, & attitudinal measures, 369 were given a follow-up interview in 1976 containing questions on health as well as the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) & the Eysenck Personality Inventory; Ss asked a man close to them to complete the BSRI also. Median masculine & feminine scores were used to divide the F sample into feminine (47%), masculine (10%), androgynous (24%), & undifferentiated (19%) groups. Results indicate that sex-typing & life choices are related: masculine women evidence a feminist pattern to their choices, while feminine women hew to the more conservative & traditional path. Although the feminine women's choices differed from those with more masculine orientations, they did not exhibit poorer adjustment, in contrast with the undifferentiated women who appeared to be the least well-adjusted of the 4 groups. No association was found between chronological age & androgyny. 4 Tables. D. Abrahams.